CWI to stand firm in wake of new ICC revenue share deals
CHIEF EXECUTIVE officer Johnny Grave said Cricket West Indies (CWI) has written extensive reports to the International Cricket Council (ICC), the sport’s world body, on the issue of its revenue distribution model, and the lure of players away from the international stage to franchise Twenty20 tournaments around the globe.
The issue of the ICC revenue distribution model became topical when it was revealed that under a proposed new deal, the Indian board was projected to collect nearly 40 per cent of net surplus, about US$230 million per year of annual earnings of US$600 million, from the world body’s next four-year commercial cycle.
“There have been no discussions at the I CC chief executives’ committee meetings on the core distributions from 2024 onwards,” Grave said during a virtual news conference following last Thursday’s CWI board meeting.
“Clearly, on t he back of improved media rights deals that the ICC have announced a few months ago, we would certainly be expecting more revenue for CWI from ICC, but we are working to assiduously improve all our revenue streams and explore other diverse revenue opportunities, including the investment we have made here in Antigua at the Coolidge Cricket Ground.”
Grave said there was likely to be discussions about the new revenue distribution model at the next ICC board meeting that will happen about the time of the World Test Championship final in June in London – but CWI’s view has been made clear for the past four years.
“We wrote a paper to the ICC back in 2019 about the economics of cricket and talking about the importance of equal revenue sharing and the importance of competitive balance to ensure that as many teams as possible have the opportunity to be successful, to create that uncertainty about who wins in matches, and to keep the sport at all levels across the world, not only sustainable, but also grow,” he said.
“The philosophy of CWI is that we need all the full members of ICC and the associates to be growing the sport, and protecting the sport in their countries, and clearly, the more teams that have a genuine chance in the eyes of fans of winning world cups will create the greatest contest on the field, will create the greatest interest in our sport. That remains our philosophy.”